The Thread of Love

Ruth 4: 13-17

“13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” 16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.”

Ruth, the lowly Moabite widow, became the great grandmother of the future King of Israel, and an ancestor of the Messiah (Matthew 1:5).   Under Jewish law, it was strictly forbidden for Jews to have anything to do with a Moabite. (Deuteronomy 23: 3-6). 

The world told Boaz that he should hate Ruth, the Moabite.  But God, in His ultimate wisdom, was sending the Messiah into the world for the entire human population, not just the Jews.  And God caused Boaz to love Ruth. 

The thread that ties the genealogy of Christ together is the thread of love...God’s love for the world.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)